Theo Walcott’s six-month injury lay-off after suffering cruciate knee ligament damage against Tottenham could mean that Arsenal will sign another forward before the end of the January transfer window.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said – “It has accelerated speculation first and of course my desire as well,”
“Up front we lose Theo as a potential central forward and that’s maybe where we have to look outside.”
There has been speculation of Arsenal being linked with move for Porto’s 27 year old striker Jackson Martinez. Jackson has represented Colombia’s national team, where he has gained 25 caps and scored 8 goals so far. He is thought to be valued at around £30million. Arsenal have also been link to Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata. This could be great news for fans who bought Arsenal Tickets
Arsene Wenger has long been an admirer of Morata and the Arsenal manager needs to bring in extra cover following injuries to Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is determined to keep Morata at Madrid but the player wants more first-team games after starting the majority of games on the Real bench.
Wenger is hopeful that Walcott will return to first team action next season but admitted he is looking at other attacking options upfront in the meantime. Buy Liverpool v Arsenal Tickets online.
Losing Theo has also been a blow to England and Roy Hodgson’s World Cup plans. The England coach said losing Walcott for the World Cup is a big blow. “It is such a shame that we have lost a player of his calibre for the World Cup,” Hodgson told the FA’s website.
The loss of Walcott seemed to have little impact on the Gunners as Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park on Monday night.